Air-brake system.



G. IGKBS. AIR BRAKE SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 15, 1909.

Patented May 16, 1911.

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G. L. IOKES.

AIR BRAKE SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED 001'. 15, 1909.

Patented May 16, 1911.

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G. L. IGKES.

AIR BRAKE SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED 005m 15, 1909.

Patented May 16, 1911.-

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of Pennsylvania,

and useful Improvements in Air-Brake,

UNITED STATES PATENT orator...

GEORGE L. IQKE$, 0E NEWPORT, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 SIDMA ICKE 0FALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA.

AIR-BRAKE SYSTEM.

To all whom may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. IoKE's, a citizen of the ,United States,residing at Newport, in' the'county of Perry and State have inventedcertain new Systems, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to air brakes, and air brake mechanism on railwaycars, and has for its primary object the feature of putting the controlof the entire train in the hands of the engineman or engineer, and tothis end thepresent invention contemplates specific improvements in thepresent air brake systems that are in common use on railway trainsof'today, and in order that a clear understanding of the presentinvention may be easily'arrived at I will briefly describe in a generalway the complete system as now found onrailway trains, and showlocomotive. The main air reservoir or St/QIF.

wherein'fnyimprovements are a. necessary feature to the safe handling oftrains on long and heavy grades.

on railway trains'of the present type consists of a steam-driven aircompressor controlled by a pump governor. The air that is thuscompressed is conducted through a suitable pipe to the main airreservoir, which is usually found attached to some part of the age tankcontains 'air at a pressure which is'in Q.pipe isylocated the engineersbrake lvalve,

excess of the pressure'contained in the auxiliary reservoir, andv thisexcess pressure is brakes, as will be fur-- 'dGSCIbd. in ful'l whenwhich regulates the flow of air into the train pipe and auxiliaryreservoirs, to charge the train, ipe and release the-brakes, and fromthe train pipe tojthe atmosphere, for applying the brakes; The trainpipe leads cm the engineefis brake valve and thence throughout theentire length ofthe train, supplying air to the auxiliary reservoirswhich are located on each car in the train. It-is by varying thepressure in this pipe that-the brakes on-each car are automaticallyapplied and released,

Located between the train pipe and auxiliary reservoir is a valve whichcontrols air communication between the train pipe, aux- The air' brakemechanism as usually found Patented Maylfi, 1911.

iliary reservoir and brake cylinder. This valve is known as the triplevalve, and takes its name from the functions it performs, viz.,regulating the supply of air to the storage reservoir, the quantityadmitted to the brake cylinder fol-applying the brakes, and

the discharge of air from the brake cylinder to release the brakes. f

In applying the brakes in a service applicatiomfrom six to eight poundsof air pressure are let out of the train pipe, and in the emergencyapplication by a sudden reduction of ten or more pounds. When the trainpipe pressure is reduced, communication between the train pipe andauxiliary reservoir is cut oif, reservoir air then enters the brakecylinder, the quantity admitted being in proportion to the reduction ofthe train pipe pressure. hen releasing the brakes, the pressure in thetrain pipe is increased, causing communication between the auxiliaryreservoir and the train pipe pressure to be reestablished and permitsthe brake cylinder air. to escape into the atmosphere. Accord- {-inglysuch successive reductions will waste the air and thus leave theengineer at the mercy of the momentum of the train when descending longgrades with heavily loaded cars. Therefore it is the purpose of thisinvention to provide means whereby the perfeet control of the train isat all time in the hands of the. engineer.

' Another object is to provide means whereby the exact braking pressurecan be determined on a car in a train of cars; also to provide means forheavy braking with heavily loaded cars; and provision for light brakingwith light or empty cars.

Vith these and many other objects in iew, which will be more readilyseen as'the nature of the invention is better understood;

the Sameconsists in the novel construction.

combination and arrangement of parts as willbe hereinafter illustrated,pointed out and claimed, reference jbeing had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure -1is a cross-sectional view'of my improved air brake retainervalve, showing a portion of the piping attached thereto. Fig. 2 isanelevational view of the pressure plate which isattached to the end ofthe retainer valve. Fig. 3 is a view showing an automatic mechanism forcontrolling the action of the improved retainer valve shown. in Fig. 1.Fig. 4 showsa modified form of automatic air brake retainer valve andgives an idea of the piping necessary to its successful operation.

Like references designate corresponding parts inithe several figures ofthe drawings.

Referring to the drawings illustrating my invention, the numeral 10designates my improved air brake retainer valve in its ontirety. Thevalve comprises a main air actuated piston 11 placed in a cylinder 12.The outside 13 which I prefer to make'of cast iron,and the bushing 14 ofbrass or some composition of brass to prevent the corroding of theseveral parts and the consequent inactivity of the valve mechanismswhich would follow with irregular surfaces in the pressure cylinder.Attached to the piston 11 is a stem 15, carrying a valve 16, whichnormally rests on a seat 17 pressed into the dividing wall 18 of thevalve casing.

- The valve 16 is held against its seat 17 by the tension of the spring19, which is preferably held in position by an actuated abutment collar20, and-an oppositely located plate 21 held at one side of the valve 16,as l illustrated in Fig. l of the drawings. I prefer to extend the valvestem 15 back beyond the face of the valve 16, through the collar 21, andhave it fit in a socket in the abutment collar 20, this constructionsecuring complete alinement of all working parts. At the rear end ofthis abutment collar 20 is a convexed wearing plate 22, held in positionby a hand operated screw 23. Attached to the stem 24 of the screw is acrank 25, the handle 26 is adapted to cooperate with apressure-registering disk 27, secured to the end ofthe retainer valvebody by a square projection 28 on the end cap 29, together with machinescrews 30, as shown. Attached to the bottom of the valve body is a boss32 through which passes a pipe 33 which leads air directly from thetriple valve exhaust to the spring chamber 34 in the valve body. Thispipe 33 is preferably provided with a stop cock 35 through which thefeature of the retainer valve may be cut-out if it is desired to makerepairs to the valve. Directly opposite the pipe 33 and screwed into thetop face 36 of the valve body is a safety valve 37 the feature of whichwill be described later. Located near' the safety valve 37 is the triplevalve exhaust 37 to the atmosphere. Attached to the pressure cylinderhead 38 is one branch of the train pipe 39, which runs through out thelength of the train. A branch pipe 42 leads from the train pipe to asafety valve which is preferably located in the cab of the locomotive,the use of which will be presently described with the operation of thevalve. The main air reservoir air passing through the engineers brakevalve enters the train pipe 39 and fills the cylinder 12, moving piston11, and valve 16 is unseated allowing air from the triple valve exhaustto flow up through pipe 33, through valve 16, into chamber 40, thencethrough port 37 into the atmosphere.

' The above described operation is what would naturally occur if thespring 19 was not set to overcome the train pipe pressure on piston 11in chamber 12. .Under service conditions, however, thisoperation issomewhat different and may be described as follows :--Assuming that atrain equipped with this system of retainer valves and the pressure inthe train pipe is known to be seventy pounds, and it is desired that theauxiliary reservoir be recharged without releasing the brakes, the airbrake inspector in making up the train passes along the cars and adjuststhe tension of the-spring 19, 10 lbs. below the train pipe pressure inchamber 12 acting on the face 11 of piston 11, by moving the handle 26to the point marked 60 on the indicating disk 27 and his auxiliaryreservoir, and continue his service application until he has fullcontrol of the train. Upon reaching the bottom of thegrade the brakesare released by closing valve 41, and increasing the pressure in thetrain pipe 39 above sixty pounds, thus overcoming the pressure exertedby the spring 19, unseating the valve 16, allowing air from the triplevalve exhaust to pass into the atmosphere, and thus effecting the re--lease of the brakes. The safety valve 43 is attached to the retaineropposite the tri le valve exhaust pipe to enable the braking power to bereduced for light cars or maintained for loaded cars.

The retainer-valve body 10 is provided with suitable brackets 44 withwhich the same may readily be attached to the car body. ,"Anotherfeature that is worthy of consideration is the method resorted to inorder that the valve 16 will at all times perfectly seat, this beingaccomplished by'extending the valve stem 15 back to a socket orreceptacle 15 in the collar 20, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

It will be noted that the tension of the spring 19 is in this deviceoperated by hand,'the automatic feature of this part of the device,(either of which can be used) is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings,inlwhich reservoir air enters the train pipe 39, passes through checkvalve 45 into a storage tank 46, filling the tank and passing outthrough tached-to the rod 51, on which is an -abut 'ment collar 52carrying a spring 53, the

screw cap'54. The rod 51 is extended out link 55 which is attached tothe arm 25 of 4 pipe 47 fills cavity 48 in cylinder 49, exerts apressure on piston 50 which overcomes the Fig. 1. An increase in thetrain'pipe presengineers brake valve and safety valves, as

7 and covered or locked in position by the and closes, holding the airin. the storage The retainer valve .16 remains closed, by virlease.

be placed at any desired distance from the throughout I tlie--ti'ain...Associated with this entirety by'the numeral 58, is a storage tank thepipe 47 to the chamber 48 in the cylinder 49, exerting a pressure on thepiston 50, at-

tension' of which is fixed by the adjustable through the cap .54 andprovided with a the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Theoperation of'thispart'of the-retainer valve may be described as followsThe main air reservoir air entersthe pipe 39, fills the, storage tank46, and passing'through tension on spring 53 and sets theretainer arm 25at sixty pounds, as shown. A reduction in the train pipe pressure willcause a reduction in the pressure in pipe 39. The check valve 45immediately asserts itself tank 46 in reserve and keepingvthe arm 25 atthe point marked 60 on the disk, as shown;

tu of the pressure exertedbythe spring 19,

sure over and-above sixty pounds will immediately cause valve 16 toopen, and the-air from the triple valve exhaustcan pass directly to theathiosphere,and the brakes relocomotive without afiecting its working,parts whatever. The operation of this part of the device may bedescribed as follows: Main reservoir air enters the engineers brakevalve 56 at thepipe connection 57, and passes into the train pipe 39,thence modified retainer valve, designatediii-its 46 in piped relationwith the train-pipe,

will be described fully later 'in the specification. The operation ofthis valve may be described as follows :Train pipe air from pipe 39fills the storage tank 46, and creates, an equal air pressure on the'pistcns 59 and 60 which are located in cylinders 61 and 62,respectively. Associated with the piston 60' is a helical spring 63,designated to fit be-- tween said piston and the adjustable abutment cup64, attached to cylinder head 65,

combined lock and cup 66, as shown in Fig.

4 ofthe drawings. This spring normally keeps the valve 16" ofi its seat"17 and allows the airfrom the triple valve eX- haustxtofiowfrom pipe33, into the chamber 34, out through valve 16, and into theatinosphere'at 37*. A reduction of air in the train pipe- 39, reducesthe air pressure in chamber 62, also in pipes 67 and 68. 3 The checkvalve 45, located in pipe 68serves to keep the air in the storage tank46 at the originalpressi re, also the pressure in chain ber 61, therebykeeping the retainer, valve closed, as illustrated in Fig. 4 of thedrawings. This action follows an ordinary serv- I ice application of thebrakes, in which ten or more pounds ofair'has been discharged from thetrain pipe.

In order to allow the engineer to recharge the reservoirs .and keep thebrakes on the train applied there is provided a safety valve69.,controlled by a cut-out cock 7 0, in a branch pipe 71, of the trainpipe 39,

which valve is set at ten pounds less than the original train pipepressure. The engineers brake valve handle 7 2 is then placed in releaseposition and air from'the main air reservoir flows into the train pipeand auxiliary IBSBI'VOII'S" until the pressure designated' by the safetyvalve 69 is reached i The valve 16 yet remains closed dueto theoriginal-pressure in the storage tank or res ervoir 46, thus maintainingthe pressure in the air. brake cylinder, keeping the brakes on thewheels and allowing for as many rechargesas may be necessary to controlthe speed of the train. hen the brakes are to bereleased the stop cock70 is closed cuttingoff the escape of air to the atmosphere throughthe'safety valve 69. The engi ieers brake-valve is thenplaced in releaseposition., The air from the main air reservoir flows nto the train pipeand auxiliary res- 'ervoirs, thus maintaining theoriginal pressure inchambers 61. and 62. The spring- 63 then asserts itself and the valve 16leaves its seat 17, and air-from the triple valve exhaust flows into theatmosphere and the brakes are automatically released. Safety valve 72 isplaced in chamber 34 to enable essary for the braking of light cars, the

safety valve 7 2 is open and set to the amount necessary to safelyhandle such cars. This valve is set in position for light or loaded ithefull braking power to be obtained and vmaintained for loaded cars withthe said valve closed. To maintain the pressure neccars when the train.is made up in the classi fication yards. I With theretainer valves inuse today, it. is necessary for some member of the train crew to setthese valves on each car, and in order todo this it is necessary toclimb from car to car, regardless of the car loading or weatherconditions and put the retainers up; to enable the engineer torecharge'his train with the brakes on. After the grade has been passed,it is again necessary to c imb from car to car and open the retainers,which process is not only dangerous and troublesome, but ineffectiveand, in case of storms, heavy rains, and extreme weather, the brakeman,having succeeded in setting up a few of these retainers, feels that hismission has been accomplished, which probably can in some way explainwhy so many trains get beyond the control of the engineer.

I claim:

1. In an air brake system, a retainer valve device comprising a valvecasing having an interior dividing wall provided with a valve seat, apiston chamber and a triple valve atmosphere port at one side of saiddividing wall, a valved blow-off connection and also a separate pipeconnection from the triple valve exhaust port with the Chamber at theother side of said dividing wall, a train pipe connection with thepiston chamber, a piston operating in the piston chamberpa reciprocatingvalve stem connected with the piston and carrying a valvecooperatingwith the valve seat in the dividing wall, a spring arrangedto exertpressure in one direction on the valve stem, said spring beingset to overcome a reduced train pipe pressure on said piston, and atension adjusting device for said spring, said tension adjusting deviceincluding a graduated dial and an indicating member cooperatingtherewith.

2. In an air brake system, a retainer valve device comprising a casinghaving separate interior chambers, one of which is-provided with apiston cylinder and a triple valve atmosphere port, and the other ofwhich chambers is provided with a blow-ofi' connection and with a pipeconnection for the atmosphere exhaust of the triple valve of the system,a wall'separating said chambers and provided with a valve seat, apressure controlled piston operating in said cyllnder, a

valve stem connected with the piston "and carry1n a valve for said valveseat, a spring arrange to move said valve in one direction and set toovercome a reduced train pipe pressure, and a tension adjustingmechanism for said spring, said tension adjusting mechanism havingindicating means.

3. In an air brake system, a retainer valve device comprising a casinghaving separate interior chambers, one of which chambers is providedwith a piston cylinder and a triple bers and provided with a valve seat,a train.

pipe connection with said piston cylinder, a piston operating in saidcylinder, a valve stem connected with said ing a valve cooperating withthe valve seat, aspring exerting pressure against the valve in onedirection and set to overcome a reduced train pipe pressure on thesystem, an abutment bearing against one end of the spring, a graduateddial, a suitably mounted adjusting screw operating against saidabutment, and a hand crank connected with said screw and having a handleelement cooperating with said dial.

.In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

GEORGE L. IOKES.

Vitnesses M. A. -ROWAN, J. P. STAUoH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

iston and carry- 1

